Welcome to my blog!

“If the person you are talking to doesn’t appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear. “ - Winnie the Pooh

Hello and welcome to my gardening blog!

This blog is about my garden and gardening experiences in the suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, near the Swan Valley.

I’ve been on this property since mid-2007. The block is just under 600 m² (that’s just over 1/8 acre) and an oddly shaped polygon – 15 metres (50 feet) along the front, just over 30 (100 feet) across the back and 25 metres (83 feet) deep.

The soil here is… well… sand. Summers are hot, dry and, in this part of Perth, spectacularly windy with easterly winds that blow in from the Bight*, across the Nullarbor and down the hills most nights and into the mornings in summer.  Winters are mild and often worryingly dry.

I grow a range of native and exotic plants, fruit trees and roses. As with all gardens, it is a continuing work in progress. Plants are moved and replaced, and every spare space is examined for its planting potential.

My intention is to fill this blog with the answers to the questions I was asking 6 years ago, the gardening ones anyway: how big does that tree grow; can I prune it; will it survive in my backyard; photo’s lie, what colour is that rose really; will it perform well; how do I beat those darn fruit fly?  Hopefully you will find something in it that you can relate to or gain something from – that’s my aim. Oh, yes, time for a disclaimer: I am in no way a professional gardener and any recommendations I make are based on my own experience and not on anything that resembles real science.  

I’m also not a brilliant photographer or stylist. Please excuse the general lack of tidiness in the scenes. It’s a little late for New Year’s resolutions but I hereby resolve to be a tidier gardener.

*Great Australian Bight